Reviews

Letting off the Happiness

Author: OH

11/02/1998 | Faster Than Sheep | Album Review

Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst is quickly becoming one of my favoritest singer-songwriter musician types. Oberst wears his weary desires on his sleeve, but they lok good out there for everyone to see and hear. Take this album with you wherever you go, and listen to why you are there. If you don't have a portable CD player yet, bust your ass on down to Stereo Megaplex and drop $69 bucks. Let it be your guiding light, your personal prophet every minute of the day. Letting Off the Happiness should be involved with as many of your daily activities as possible. I actually drive better, and more politely I might add, when listening to Conor lullaby my sour with his songs. Conor wrote the album and then elisted the help of a bunch of great musicians, including Curisive's Mall Maginn and Lullaby for the Working Clas's Mike Mogis, to drop in and help with keyborads, drums, samples, and piano to accompany his lyrical gesticulations. To Cnor's credit, he manages very well to lead the band of merry musicians to greatness, and is never over-shadowed by the multitude of sounds and instruments. This is ear-pleasisng home-grown pop at its very very best. And finally, Bright Eyes shines even brighter by utilizing everything from simple acoustic guitars and straining vocals ("June on the West Coast" and "Teresa and Tomas") to delicately composed guitar bursts, also involving pedal steel guitar, melodica, and keyborads ("Contrast and Compare" and "Pull My Hair") that will please anyone with a pulse. In simpler ters, this is epic music for bringing on the new millennium. It's pretty big stuff. (Saddle Creek Records)